LINDEN, NJ — A mother, father and baby were critically injured after a driver neighbors said was fleeing police slammed into two vehicles on East Linden Avenue in Linden.
Witnesses said the crash unfolded after a gray SUV sped through the area while police were chasing it. Video from the scene shows a marked police cruiser traveling down the one-way street with lights and sirens on, followed moments later by a small sedan entering the roadway before a loud impact.
Neighbors said the SUV hit two vehicles, including the sedan carrying the family. Police say a fourth person, an adult, is being treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
Witnesses describe the chase and the impact on East Linden Avenue
People who saw the collision said the gray SUV was trying to get away from officers when it crashed into the first vehicle and then into the sedan with the mother, father and baby inside. The force of the impact spun the sedan around and pushed it backward, leaving heavy damage behind.
John Cieri, whose vehicle was the first struck, said the SUV hit his car and then moved into oncoming traffic before striking the second vehicle. He said police then pulled up, drew their guns and took the driver out of the vehicle.
Cieri also said the incident could have ended even worse, especially because the family’s baby was in the sedan. A child safety seat could be seen in the roadway near the crash scene after the collision.
Damage left both vehicles disabled along the street
Both vehicles came to rest along East Linden Avenue, where the extent of the damage was still visible hours later. The sedan showed major damage after being spun around and forced backward, while the gray SUV also sustained heavy damage in the collision.
The scene drew attention from neighbors who watched the aftermath and tried to make sense of how quickly the pursuit ended in a multi-car crash. The roadway where the vehicles stopped remained a clear reminder of the force involved.
Video from the area captured the police cruiser moving through the block with emergency lights and sirens activated before the sound of the crash. That footage was part of what neighbors and residents were discussing after the collision.
Family with a baby was inside the sedan struck in the collision
Witnesses said one of the vehicles hit in the crash carried a family, including a baby. The collision left that sedan with enough damage that the child safety seat was visible outside the vehicle after the impact.
The family’s condition was described as critical, and police later said an additional adult was being treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. No further details about the family’s identities or ages were immediately released.
Residents at the scene said the presence of a baby made the crash especially upsetting. The visible seat in the roadway underscored how close the scene came to becoming even more serious.
Linden police say their cruiser was not involved in the crash itself
News 12 asked the Linden Police Department about the security camera video showing the crash. The department said a Linden police car was not involved in the crash itself.
That statement did not resolve the larger question of how the pursuit started or why the driver was being followed. Neighbors said they saw officers chasing the gray SUV, while investigators have not publicly detailed the events that led up to the collision.
The distinction matters because the crash appears to have happened during the course of a police pursuit, but the department said its car did not physically take part in the impact.
Union County Police are investigating the pursuit and crash
The circumstances surrounding the chase and the collision remain under investigation by the Union County Police Department. Officials have not said what led officers to pursue the driver, how long the chase lasted or what charges, if any, may follow.
In New Jersey, there is no state law that explicitly prohibits police chases. Officers instead decide whether to initiate one based on whether they reasonably believe a person has committed a crime or poses a threat to public safety.
That framework has renewed concern among residents after a crash that sent three members of one family to the hospital in critical condition and left another adult injured. For now, investigators are still piecing together the sequence of events on East Linden Avenue.
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